Mayeux allegedly used more than $305,000 in investments on vehicles, a boat, a water scooter, home improvements, personal investments and payments on a Las Vegas credit line, he said.

Caldwell said 181 people bought one or more $1,000 shares in Mayeux's United Roadside and Lube -- 154 of them Louisiana residents and the others in Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Mayeux began recruiting investors in 2006, saying his company would provide a customer roadside assistance program and customer engine warranties for lube centers, car dealerships, and financial institutions, Caldwell said.

Mayeux told investors the company was insured, but he is a felon and therefore could not get some of the contracts he claimed, Caldwell said.

His spokeswoman, Amanda Larkin, said Mayeux had an extensive criminal record dating back to 1973, including convictions for counterfeiting, theft and burglary. She said he served time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and in federal prison.

Caldwell said that after Mayeux resigned from URL in 2007, the board of directors learned that he had taken more than $305,000 for himself.

A number listed in an online directory as both Mayeux's home and work number as principal of Global Lube Solutions has been disconnected.

If convicted, Mayeux faces a possible sentence of up to 50 years at hard labor.